Police confiscate 280 bags of heroin, arrest Thomaston man

THOMASTON, Maine — Police found 280 bags of heroin in a home here Tuesday and arrested Stephen Darney, 42, of Thomaston for trafficking heroin and possession of a firearm.

They also charged his wife, Kathleen Darney, 40, of Thomaston, with possession of heroin. Stephen Darney was in Knox County jail awaiting $2,500 cash bail as of Wednesday afternoon.

Police had been investigating the Darneys for several months before they executed a search warrant. They reported finding $6,000 worth of heroin inside the house. They also confiscated needles, scales, two handguns and a shotgun.

Stephen Darney is a convicted felon, according to a Department of Public Safety press release. In 1997 he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer in Massachusetts.

Members of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Rockland Police and Thomaston Police were involved.

The Darneys were recently in the news for filing a federal lawsuit against their neighbor Dragon Cement, whose operation they argued cast a fine, white dust over their home. Blasting of limestone nearby damaged their property and scared their two young children, they wrote in the lawsuit. The lawsuit was dismissed in March, however, when a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove measurable damage to the residence.